Chaplin's barbet (Lybius chaplini) is endemic to Zambia, and is listed as Near Threatened (2004 IUCN Red List Category). Field surveys to establish their true status, distribution and ecological requirements are considered a priority by BirdLife International. They are found largely outside of protected areas, where their habitat is destroyed through land clearing for agriculture and cutting of trees for fuelwood. This survey will assess their population size and extent of suitable habitat within the Kafue Flats and adjacent farmlands, where the largest assemblage of populations is found, and will assess the impacts of agriculture and fuelwood harvesting on their population. This information will be used to update their red listing status, and to provide recommendations for their conservation in Zambia. It will also provide a detailed database of sites which can be used to monitor the status of this species in future.

Searching for barbets on the southern Kafue Flats as Zambian children look on
(Photo by Klaus Droppelmann)

The results of this survey indicate that suitable habitat for Chaplin's barbet is being degraded by both fuel-wood collection and by commercial agriculture, and therefore that their distribution and abundance on the Kafue Flats have declined within the past 20 years. However, over much of the area agriculture is small-scale rather than commercial. Large trees are usually left in small-scale agricultural fields. However, dead branches on these trees, which are used as nesting sites by the barbets, were extensively cut for fuel-wood, making the persistence of this species within this type of land-use system unlikely. Particularly in the east of the Flats, some suitable habitat has been destroyed by commercial agriculture, but here the spread of urban areas is also a problem. Of the 15 sites that were searched where Chaplin's barbet occurred historically, it was found that they occurred in only 40% (n=6) of them now. The presence of Chaplin's barbets was determined by their response to the playback of a recording of their call. Detection of barbets cannot be 100%, and therefore a certain proportion of the historical sites are likely to still be occupied by barbets, even though they were not detected. Nevertheless, one can estimate that between 20 and 50% of historically occupied sites are no longer occupied.

Data was colected on habitat suitability for Chaplin's barbets during this survey. This data will be combined with data collected in two additional surveys of other parts of the species range. The data will be used to analyze satellite imagery, in collaboration with the RSPB, to estimate the amount of suitable habitat that remains for Chaplin's barbet within Zambia, and, ultimately, to estimate population size, based on known densities of barbets. It will also be used to generate an up-to-date distribution map of the species. Based on preliminary population estimates, a proposal was submitted to BirdLife International, who are the red-listing authority for birds, to recommend changing the status of Chaplin's barbet from Near-Threatened to Vulnerable during their 2008 re-evaluation of the red-listing status of all birds. As a threatened species, Chaplin's barbet will obtain a higher conservation status and research priority with the Zambia Wildlife Authority, the Zambian Ornithological Society and BirdLife International.

The long-term implications of the project are that, once the satellite imagery and other analyses of the data are complete, there will be a database against which to measure further changes in the species habitat and population size. The next Assessment of Chaplin's Barbet in the Kafue Flats, Zambia, for Red Listing Purposes step is to ensure that the research findings are communicated to relevant stakeholders within Zambia and to the international community. On the basis of this survey, and due to an appeal to BirdLife International, the name of this species has been changed to the Zambian Barbet. The fact that many people did not know this species at all, and that it is one of only two Zambian endemic bird species, emphasizes the need for a publicity campaign, to inform people of its existence, of its name change, and, importantly, to involve them in its conservation.